Megliola: Millis is armed and dangerous with Bryce Latosek at quarterback

By Lenny Megliola/Special to the News

Tuesday

Nov 28, 2017 at 6:51 PMNov 29, 2017 at 3:41 PM

When Bryce Latosek was very young, he had a reason to go to the Millis High football games. His older brothers, Kyle and Derek, were playing. Not that the youngest brother was paying all that much attention.

When Bryce Latosek was very young, he had a reason to go to the Millis High football games.

His older brothers, Kyle and Derek, were playing. Not that the youngest brother was paying all that much attention. “I was kind of running around throwing a football with my friends,” said Bryce.

Derek was a wide receiver, Kyle a quarterback. Not that catching a football on the gallop wasn’t an artful endeavor, but as time went on there was something that caught Bryce’s eye, and it was when Kyle was throwing the ball downfield. That really looked like fun.

If Bryce was destined to play for Millis High some day, it was because of Kyle.

“He’s the reason I wanted to be a quarterback,” said Bryce. “I always looked up to Kyle. In basketball he was a 3-point shooter. So am I. In baseball he pitched and played the infield.” So does Bryce, now a senior.

If a kid aimed to be an exceptional high school quarterback, Millis was a fortuitous landing place. That’s where the Olson twins, Dana and Dale, coached. When they coached at Bellingham High they worked with Ricky Santos, who turned out to be a record-setting quarterback at New Hampshire. A stint at Framingham High had the Olsons working with Dan Guadagnoli, who went on to stardom at Bentley.

“My brother and I have been blessed with quarterbacks,” said Dana Olson, the Millis head coach with Dale as his offensive coordinator. But they would need a crystal ball to give them a clue that not one, but two, Latoseks would join the fraternity.

Question to Bryce: Do you know the 32 touchdowns you’ve thrown this season is the second-highest highest in Eastern Massachusetts?

“I didn’t know that,” said Latosek. “That’s pretty cool.”

Swampscott’s Colin Frary has thrown 33. But Latosek has one game left, the Division 8 Super Bowl against Hoosac Valley on Saturday at Gillette Stadium

“Bryce has thrown 62 touchdown passes in 22 games the last two years and only 15 interceptions,” said Dana Olson. “He’s thrown for over 4,500 yards, which I think is in the top 25 all-time in Massachusetts."

When Dana Olson coached Kyle and Derek, he was aware there was a kid brother running around somewhere. “We knew there was a younger brother coming.” Bryce led the freshman team to an undefeated season.

“He was super-poised in the pocket for someone that age. We knew we had something,” said Dana Olson.

“[Freshman] year was one of my favorites,” said Latosek. “We were undersized. We had 25 kids.” He was the only one who didn’t play on defense.

A win over Hopkinton that freshman year still sticks out. The fall afternoon had grown dark. “Pitch black,” Latosek remembered. “There was about a minute left. I threw a slant-and-go to P.J. Adams. I couldn’t even see him. I just threw it.” Sans flashlight, Adams found it, caught it, touchdown, ballgame.

Still, the Olsons weren’t going to rush Latosek. He played on the junior varsity his sophomore season, dressed with the varsity on Friday nights and paid attention on the sidelines. “It was the biggest learning year of my career. I was getting a better understanding of what I was looking for.”

Then, last season, time for the big step. Varsity starter. The opener was against potent Holliston. “I was nervous,” Latosek conceded. “There was nothing like it. I knew they’d be the best team we’d play all year." Holliston won.

It wounded but didn’t kill the Mohawks. Millis rebounded, made it to the postseason, and defeated Maynard 30-18 in the Division 4A Super Bowl. Latosek had a signature play in the game. His target was Brian Espanet. “It was third-and-long and Brian was double-teamed. But I knew he’d go up and get it. That was the icing on the cake.”

The QB/receiver dynamic is crucial to any team. “Bryce has had great players to throw to,” said Dana Olson. This season it’s been Adams, Andrew Brooks, and Dominic Zonfrelli. “Bryce distributes the ball very well to them,” said the coach.

“We get the most out of what we have, that’s for sure,” said Millis athletic director Chuck Grant, whose programs, besides football, have been on a roll.

When he started playing at the Pop Warner level at 10, Latosek was a tight end. He had some height, but not much beef. Even now, he’s a slender 6-foot-1, 165 pounds. The next year he was moved to quarterback. “I’ve been there ever since,” he said.

His older brothers would occasionally remind Bryce he was the baby in the family. “They always pushed me around. They scared me. We played one-on-one in basketball. I cried when I lost.” Did he ever win? “Not that I can remember.”

Latosek spoke of the mutual trust shared with the Olsons, who allow him to occasionally change the play at the line of scrimmage. “If I see something wide open, I switch the call,” he said. The best advice he got from O-coordinator Dale Olson: “He told me to be confident and keep my eyes on downfield.”

Latosek said his parents, Peter and Kim, both Millis High grads, are “big sports fans. When I come home from a game my father has a report on it.” Kim’s been known to play a mean game of volleyball.

Latosek is still uncertain about his college plans for next year. “I may walk-on somewhere. I definitely have to put on more weight. I’ve been trying. I’m eating as much as I can.”

The four years have sped by, but Latosek has “films of all my games so I get to re-live them.”

As for Dana Olson, “We’re going to have to groom another quarterback, but we’re going to enjoy this one more game with Bryce.”

Saturday, 1:30, in the Patriots’ house.

Lenny Megliola can be reached at lennymegs@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @lennymegs.

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